if you've missed any interviews, i want you to go to the brooke blog, as we call it. and to boston, thanks for having us. this is a tough town. boston strong. now to jake tapper. "the lead" starts now. on the heels of our reporting earlier this week about the problems with information sharing, the department of homeland security resolves to close a glaring loophole in border defense. i'm jake tapper and this is "the lead." the national lead, dzhokhar tsarnaev's arrested pal, allowed back in the country on a visa that should have been revoked. now the agents who should have stopped him have new marching orders from the top. the sports lead. the biggest spectator event since the boston terror attacks. more than 160,000 people will attend the kentucky derby tomorrow. is churchill downs ready?

and the money lead. the best day ever. you can hear over the closing bell on wall street, ancient bottles of scotch being uncorked and cuban cigars being circumcised. well to "the lead." we begin with the money lead and a big day on the wall street, the market hovering near the 15,000 mark. after rising above that mark for the first time earlier in the day. that's thanks in part to a not too shabby jobs report. the u.s. economy added about 165,000 new jobs in april and the unemployment rate dipped to 7.5%. alison is live at the new york stock exchange. in the grand scheme of things, the jobs report wasn't really that great when you dive into the numbers. but psychologically, it seemed to have had a big impact on wall street. why?

>> reporter: you make a good point, jake. there's something nice about those psychological milestones that create confidence not just in stocks but also the economy, as well. it's been a while since we've hit a new milestone like this. there was a seven-year brought between 11,000 and 12,000. then less than a year from 12,000 in october of 2006 to 14,000 in july of 2007. so that makes almost six years between 14,000 and for the first time 15,000 during a trading day today. as you said, that can have a big psychological impact. the problem is this momentum is being fueled by more so the federal reserve. the jobs picture, yeah. it's improving but not fabulous enough to push the fed out of the mix, which many believe is the reason you're watching stocks rocket to record new highs. the fed is buying up $85 billion

of treasuries, mortgage backed securities. that's moving interest rates done and pushing investors to invest in stocks. and many believe that the stimulus is creating the wealth effect we're seeing in the market. jake? >> thank you so much. let's get the economic pulse. markets up? check. housing up? check. unemployment down? we'll give it a tentative check. jim, a positive jobs number. but when you dive into those numbers, 4 million people have been unemployed for six months or longer. this has been a slow recovery. why? >> it's been exceptionally slow and for a lot of reasons. first of all, we had a really bad recession. second off, we have not had a policy working harmoniously on the way out. when fiscal policy hits the

brakes, monetary policy hits the gas, ben bernanke complaining the fiscal policy is holding things back. and it's taking longer for u.s. recoveries to restore the jobs they've had and new research that i read about said that's because we've shifted from a manufacturing economy to a service economy and that takes longer to ramp back up. >> here's the big question for all if people unemployed or working five jobs and people have been struggling and watching this and they hear about the dow. how come that money isn't going down? how come it's not trickling down and manifesting itself in job creation for all these people? >> it's manifesting in some job creation. >> but not in the size you would think based on the dow. >> there's a big disconnect right now, because the wealth effect is in itself a big disconnect. there's a lot of wealth going up to people at the top, not a lot to the people in the middle or the low end that would fuel the consumption that would fuel the

production or service expansion that you would expect to add a lot of jobs. until we get a more robust middle and low end growth in that wealth effect, we're not going to see as much job creation. >> and some practical advice for the people watching at home. is now a good time to take out a loan to buy a house, to start a business? is now good? >> i'm not a loan officer or financial planner, but i would say this, rates are really low right now. if you can get a loan, it's a great time to start that economic activity. we're seeing it with the housing market right now. housing prices are going up, because more people can get these great low loans. if you can get that, it's a good time to buy. >> thank you so much. now to the national lead. you had to know that security changes were coming after the boston terror attacks. now they're starting. as we were first to start,

azamat tazhayakov reentered the country on a visa that should have been revoked. but customs and border never got the message. there's the information sharing problem we've been talking about. now effective immediately, a u.s. government official confirms that the department of homeland security is ordering border agents to confirm that every international student arriving here has a valid visa. the move is part of an effort to reform the student visa program. he's one of the friends accused of taking evidence from dzhokhar tsarnaev's room and disposing of it. also a source tells cnn investigators found explosive residue in the cambridge apartment that tamerlan tsarnaev shared with his wife, catherine russell and their young daughter. law enforcement officials have told cnn bombs were built there. i talked to a neighbor earlier

this week. the wife's attorney says the reports about her husband came as a shock. that does seem odd, because these aren't luxury, spacious apartments. if someone is building a bomb in one, one would think you would know about it. meanwhile, the fbi and police are searching in and around the town of dartmouth, massachusetts where dzhokhar tsarnaev went to school. a source is checking tips about loud explosions in the area in recent months. protesters stood outside a funeral home that briefly took in tamerlan tsarnaev's body before his uncle picked it up. the mayor of worster confirms his city has the city of being chosen as the site of tamerlan tsarnaev's funeral. with the release of the body, the official cause of death could be announced as early as today. i want to begin with juliette, a "boston globe" columnist. this new crackdown on verifying

student visas, what extra steps would agents take that they're not already trying to do? >> i think there would be a check. when someone comes through, a check to ensure that their student visa is still valid through a system, a system that they are checking the names. what appears to have been the case is either the check did not occur or the name was not put into the right system that would be apparent to the customs and border official, the person at the airport. so they're trying to put in realtime information from a school into that system. we don't know where the delay occurred to ensure that a person coming in on a student visa two are, i have to say, they're low priority right now. of all the problems that we have with immigration, someone overstaying a student visa is generally a low priority. this new directive puts them in a higher priority so we double-check, so the government double-checks to make sure their visa is still valid.

>> yesterday, i interviewed a former head of i.c.e. who told me that the computer models and the student visa and visitor system, that's the system that keeps track of individuals in this country, that all these computer programs are not hooked up or not working, they're not efficient. this is obviously more than a decade after 9/11. when you joined the department of homeland security a few years ago, were you surprised at the condition of the computer and information sharing apparatus? it just seems staggeringly behind where one would think it would be? >> some of it is the legacy of all of these agencies being put together and the department of homeland security. so the truth is, there is no single master list that someone at the coast guard or cia might

be able to figure out. so what you end up having is a lot of bridges between information. some of that seems pretty obvious that you would want that, because too much information makes it noisy. if information is delayed and you're not getting the right information to the customs officials who needs to know this person is coming in and their student visa is not valid, that's important. but once again, student visa violations are not a high priority as compared to murderers and others who you don't want in the country. and as we know, just from at least so far, that when he came in, his involvement with the bombing was really in the coverup. so it's not even clear, you know, sort of what finding him would have done. but obviously, this is low-hanging fruit to fix. if it can be fixed, it should be fixed. >> according to a source dzhokhar tsarnaev is telling investigators that the brothers originally planned a suicide attack on boston's fourth of july celebration.

but the bombs were ready early, so they picked the marathon a day or two before hand. everything that dzhokhar tsarnaev says has to be take within a grain of salt. but that does not suggest a huge amount of planning, does it? >> not at all. the hanhazardness of their exit plan, and sophisticated terroristed choose their sites for years and years. if you think about 9/11 and the u.s. africa embassy bombing. these are strategic decisions about where you attack. this is like they woke up, the bombs were ready and realized april 15 th is this monday. it goes to the haphazard nature

of their operations. but it's not fitting the criteria of a sophisticated, organized attack, including picking the site just because you're ready to do it. >> thank you so much. the surviving terror suspect says he and his brother watched videos on line and were self-radicalized. is that even possible? we'll talk to a psychiatrist who says absolutely. and from their cold dead hands. acres of guns, gear and ammo on display at the nra convention. as the debate gets nastier and more personal, i'll speak with the outgoing president of the national rifle association. met. you brought the flex in... as soon as i met fiona and i was describing the problem we were having with our rear brakes, she immediately triaged the situation, knew exactly what was wrong with it, the car was diagnosed properly, it was fixed correctly i have confidence knowing that if i take to ford it's going to

be done correctly with the right parts and the right people. get a free brake inspection and brake pads installed for just 49.95 after rebates when you use the ford service credit card. did you tell him to say all of that? no, he's right though... humans. we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask an insurance expert about all our benefits today,

like our 24/7 support and service, because at liberty mutual insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. plus, you could save hundreds when you switch, up to $423. call... today. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? i remember thinking there's a lot i have to do... check my blood sugar, eat better. start insulin. today i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said with levemir® flexpen... i don't have to use a syringe and a vial. levemir® flexpen comes prefilled with long-acting insulin taken once daily for type 2 diabetes to help control high blood sugar. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. no drawing from a vial. no refrigeration for up to 42 days. levemir® (insulin detemir [rdna origin] injection)

is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life threatening. ask your health care provider about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions. tell your health care provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat, or sweating. flexpen® is insulin delivery my way. covered by most insurance plans, including medicare. ask your health care provider about levemir® flexpen today. welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. one of the most disturbing things about the boston terror attacks is that the bombs were

created with simple household items, likesome kind of twisted martha stewart do it yourself project from hell. but can self-radicalization really happen? are online videos on websites enough to turn someone into a terrorist? what could inspire anyone living in america to create and execute a plan that wreaked so much destruction? the question whether they had collaborators is yet to be answered, but the surviving brother, dzhokhar tsarnaev has, according to law enforcement sources, told investigators they acted alone, inspired by what they saw as unjust wars in iraq and afghanistan and the claim is they radicalized themselves by what they heard and raid online.

the preachings of radical clerics were likely to have been among the videos that the tsarnaev brothers watched. and investigators are also looking into whether the jihadist online magazine "inspire" was read by the brothers. it's like a how-to manual for would-be terrorists. >> for a number of years, that one magazine seemed to be a main recruiter of young muslims in this country as far as self-radicalization. >> one of the pressure cooker bombs was similar to a design found in the magazine's article, make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom. after tamerlan tsarnaev's trip to russia last year, it appears tamerlan created a youtube channel which he posted and then removed a video of a jihadist leader. one who was later killed by russian troops. joining me now, daniel lieberman, professor at george

washington university. dr. lieberman, thanks for joining us. talk to me how self-radicalization works on a psychological level, the idea that these two men are looking for an outlet, they find it online and do it to themselves. do that make sense? >> radical philosophies are appealing to certain kinds of people. it can give very easy answers to difficult questions. such as for people who are misfits, what's wrong with me? why do i feel like an outsider. these are the answers that can be found on radical sites on the internet. >> the idea, though, that these videos could take somebody and turn them into something they were not already, that seems tough for a lot of us to swallow, that they wouldn't already be bad people. although when you hear descriptions of dzhokhar tsarnaev, he is described as a typical 19-year-old dope smoker.

>> right. radicalization does require social involvement, but that's what social media is. and social media is a relatively new phenomena. we don't know exactly how it compares to direct social interaction. but it has a lot of the same influence. >> so a writer for the weekly standard says there's a problem with the way society understands self-radicalization. he says these attacks are not accidents of individual psychology but part of a larger plan shaped by some very smart sociopaths to use such people for horrific ends. i'm not sure you guys are contradicting each other, but he's saying that self-radic self-radicalizati self-radicalization, there's no self in it, that there's an apparatus. jihadis are creating this apparatus, and that's what these videos are, and everything else, and we can't just say, oh, it's

these two tsarnaev brothers, that there's this immense thing, this immense entity that is doing it. >> i think that's absolutely true. we imagine people all by themselves going on the internet and say this is self-radicalization. that's not true at all. they are being -- >> are they being brainwashed? >> that's not really a technical term, but being influenced. we know the influence that social media can have on people. we know of people falling in love on facebook, leaving their families to pursue a virtual relationship. so it can lead people to behave in ways that ordinarily they wouldn't consider. >> is the jihadi ideology more of a threat when it comes to radicalization than other ideologies that have resulted in violence? obviously in the '60s and '70s, we saw a lot of radicalization

of people on the left and some of them became the weather underground and black panthers, et cetera. is there something about jihadi ideology that is worse? >> when you have the religious element, it becomes more problematic. death takes on a very different meaning. if you look at it purely in secular terms, death is to be avoided. but in you think you're going to be rewarded and go to paradise, it becomes very different. >> fascinating stuff. thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. this sunday night, anthony bordaine heads to canada. that's "parts unknown" this sunday at 9:00 eastern on cnn. next, big obnoxious hats still allowed but big bags not allowed. organizers try to keep 160,000

people safe after boston. we'll be live at churchill downs in the sports lead. plus, cutting a clear path through home, right to the ocean. wildfires on an early rampage across california. help the gulf recover, and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i've been with bp for 24 years. i was part of the team that helped deliver on our commitments to the gulf - and i can tell you, safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge safety equipment and technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all our drilling activity, twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. safety is a vital part of bp's commitment to america - and to the nearly 250,000 people who work with us here. we invest more in the u.s. than anywhere else in the world. over fifty-five billion dollars here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor.

our commitment has never been stronger. hey everybody, hi mom...

streaming live with a tour of my new place... knowing you can still reach out. ... and now you've seen it. that's powerful. verizon. get mom a lucid 2 by lg for free.

welcome back to "the lead." in the sports lead, it's been called the most exciting two minutes in sports. the people in charge of the kentucky derby are hoping it's also the most secure two minutes in sports. more than 160,000 people are expected to show up for the first leg of the triple crown tomorrow. so how do you keep a crowd that big safe after the boston

bombings? pam brown joins us from louisville. did i say it right, louisville? >> reporter: louisville. don't worry, jake, not many people get it right. unless you're from kentucky like me. >> the big question, kentucky girl, i don't know where your huge hat is. my understanding is you need to be wearing one of those to even get into the state this weekend. >> reporter: yeah, i look like an amateur, don't i? i just didn't have time to go shopping, but your twitter tip was right on, big hats yes. big bags, no for this weekend. >> i was happy to hear that they had increased security. it means, you know, less makeup and goodies we can bring in, but it's worth it to just be more comfortable and know that we're going to look after each other. >> reporter: is what happened in boston on your mind today? >> yes, it definitely is on my

mind just because it's such a large crowd and you never know what people's intentions are. but i'm not going to let that bother me. we're just going to enjoy ourselves. >> reporter: jake, today is -- >> go ahead. >> reporter: go ahead. >> as someone who has attended many of these, is security definitely tighter than in previous years? >> reporter: it does seem like it, jake. i grew up going to the kentucky derby. it used to be that you could walk around wherever you wanted to. in the fast few years, you've had to have a ticket to get on each level. it's definitely gotten tighter. today, definitely a bigger presence of authorities, local, state and federal authorities here. national guard troops, just everywhere you look, around every corner, there's someone keeping a watchful eye on the

crowds. more than 100,000 people here today for the oaks. this is sort of a test run for tomorrow, the run for the roses. so the new security measures are put into place today. they're banning cans, coolers, purses bigger than 12 inches, which is causing some consternation among some of the women i've spoken with today. and so it's clear that they're taking security very seriously here, jake. >> pam brown, enjoy your weekend back at home. golden sense, falling sky, lines of battle. those aren't james bond titles, they're names of horses running tomorrow. if you had a horse in the race, what would you name it? me, personally, i find fascinating. varying degrees of confidence, that's any horse name.

coming up, may the fourth be with you. it's like christmas and new year's combined in nerd line. they'll all be putting on their best pair of suspenders tomorrow in the pop culture lead. ♪

[ male announcer ] from our nation's networks... ♪ ...to our city streets... ♪ ...to skies around the world... ♪ ...northrop grumman's security solutions are invisibly at work, protecting people's lives... [ soldier ] move out! [ male announcer ] ...without their even knowing it. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] this is a reason to look twice. this is a stunning work of technology. the 2013 lexus es and the first-ever es hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. it's easy to follow the progress you're making toward all your financial goals. a quick glance, and you can see if you're on track. when the conversation turns to knowing where you stand, turn to us. wells fargo advisors.

welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. the national lead, ten of you tos attending the nra convention in texas, savering their victory again gun control in the senate. now the u.s. rethinking about sending arms into syria. what could go wrong? and ironman 3. it's obviously going to dominate the box office this weekend. comic fans are going nuts. this weekend, they may be looking forward to something else even more. in our world lead, another

day, another violent event in syria. the state-run syrian arab news agency reports that a fire broke out at damascus international airport after rebels fired mortars that hit a parked plane and 32 people died today due to syrian violence. the global post says it has a high degree of confidence that missing journalist james foley is in the custody of the syrian government. foley has been missing since late november. all of these events beg the question, is international intervention coming? joining me now is israeli ambassador to the united states michael orn. thanks for joining me. secretary of defense hagel said yesterday the administration is considering arming the rebels in syria. as you know, that is a varied group. some of them are affiliated with

al qaeda. some of them are not. does israel support arming the rebels? >> israel is not making any policy recommendations to the obama administration. it's a complex situation, but all we're saying is if the united states does decide to provide lethal weaponry to rebel groups that those groups be vetted. we had some bad experiences in the past with gadhafi. there were missiles that traveled very fast to our backyard from libya. we ask that they be vetted in syria. >> how sure is israel that assad has used chemical weapons? there are conflicting reports. the head of israel's military intelligence said they were sure, but secretary of state

john kerry says they're not sure. >> like all intelligence assessments, there's no absolute certitude. our assessment was confirmed by british, french and american sources. but it's true that the usage of chemical weapons by the syrian regime or anybody in syria is being monitor bied by our intelligence agency and continues to be discussed at the highest levels between the israeli and u.s. governments. >> so it's not 100% sure? >> in that world, 100% is almost an oxy moron. but we're sharing our intelligence assessments. >> lastly, your reaction to reporting by the daily beast that multiple u.s. officials said the u.s. has lost track of where some of these chemical weapon stockpiles are in syria. your government has said a red line, the transfer of these weapons to hezbollah, possible military action about that. does the israeli government know where these chemical stockpiles

are? >> we have very good intelligence about syria, and that we shared this intelligence on an ongoing and very senior level with the united states. and we're watching it very carefully. >> so whatever holes the u.s. might have in its intelligence, the israelis have? >> we share. we complement one another. again, we are monitoring this on a minute by minute basis, and we feel we have good intelligence. >> israeli ambassador to the united states, thanks for joining us. >> good to be here. it's been seven months since the attack in benghazi. the bureaucracy surrounding what happened is getting dizzying. now a special panel put together to investigate the attack is under review itself by the state department's own inspector general. the attack, of course, killed the u.s. ambassador and three other americans. with the aftermath posing serious questions why the state department ignored months of requests for added security.

whether anything more could have been done to help those being attacked, and why the obama administration seems so eager to blame it all on an anti-muslim video. then secretary of state hillary clinton ordered a review of the attack last year, one that review blames leadership issues but cleared her and other senior officials. four state department officials were disciplined. but now there are questions about the independent review board process, as well. as questions about whether any individual who wants to testify is being given the legal ability to do so. a house committee will hold a hearing next week and we'll cover this story more next week. it's been more than two years since the death of osama bin laden and the deadly navy s.e.a.l. raid that made our relationship more awkward.

and dr. hakil is on a hunger strike. in an interview, his brother said it's time for the u.s. to return a favor. >> he was accused of helping the cia get dna samples from bin laden through a fake vaccination campaign and sentenced to 3 3 years in prison. the state department has called for him to be released. in national news, texas, a state that never met a firearm it didn't like, site of this year's convention for the national rifle association, the

president of the nra will join me from there, next. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals: help the gulf recover, and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i've been with bp for 24 years. i was part of the team that helped deliver on our commitments to the gulf - and i can tell you, safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge safety equipment and technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all our drilling activity, twenty-four-seven.

and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. safety is a vital part of bp's commitment to america - and to the nearly 250,000 people who work with us here. we invest more in the u.s. than anywhere else in the world. over fifty-five billion dollars here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor. our commitment has never been stronger.

welcome back to "the lead." 70,000 people and seven acres of rifles, pistols and bullets. sounds like our politics lead. the nra says their meeting in houston is on track to be their largest ever. besides big numbers, the event boasts palin, perry, santorum, cruz. the theme this year, stand and fight. david keen, president of the

national rifle association, joins me now from the convention itself. david, thanks for joining us. as members of the nra were on their way to this meeting, a man fired a gun inside houston's largest airport, then shot himself when he was confronted by law enforcement officials. he left behind a suicide note saying he had a monster inside him and wanted police to stop him before he hurt others. obviously we don't know enough details about this to say there's any law that could have prevented this one way or the other. but generally speaking, given this incident, how do you think we can do a better job of keeping firearms out of the hands of the mentally unstable? >> that, jake, is one of the really serious questions that we ought to be asking and that the congress ought to be asking. because all of the shootings that we've had, the so-called mass shootings, have been perpetrated not by traditional criminals but people who are seriously mentally ill. since the 1950s, 1960s,

ourmental health care system doesn't basically exist. today those who are mentally ill are not treated, not diagnosed. they're on the streets as the homeless or in prisons. these are the kinds of people we have to keep an eye on. we have, since the mid 1990s, urged congress and the states to make certain that those who have been adjudicated to be mentally ill, be included in the background searches through the checks system. it's not firearms, it's how do we deal with the severely mentally ill. that's one of the problems this country has. >> shouldn't we be able to prevent them from getting weapons, letting people in gun stores know that there might be concerns about an individual expressed by a doctor or

hospital or an ex-wife? shouldn't that be part of this discussion, as well? >> well, jake, i do think that policymakers and medical experts and psychiatric experts ought to be looking at that. it's interesting that you mentioned gun stores and ranges, because in a couple cases like the aurora shooting, the only people that tried to do something was firearms retailers who looked at this guy and said there's something wrong with him and wouldn't or wouldn't let him come to the range. but in today's world, they're rarely treated, rarely caught and little is done to do anything to help them. >> a senator from new hampshire was at a town hall meeting and her political ratings have gone down and a lot of people suspect it's because of the background check she voted against.

erica laugherty, whose mother was killed at the new town shooting, spoke. >> what is your response to her? >> well, obviously any tragedy, any murder, any mom side, any death, regardless of the reasons and regardless of what cause it is, it's something that saddens everybody. on the other hand, and she has every right to her view as to what might solve this problem. but the bottom line question, with all of these proposals that were before the senate was, if that proposal, if that legislation had been adopted a year ago, would it have prevented the newtown tragedy? in every instance, the answer was no. we're as concerned and gun owners are as concerned as anybody with making sure our children is safe and our schools and streets are safe. we do disagree on the policies that some people are proposing, because we don't think they will

work. we're in favor of policies that will work. the nra was a major supporter of the establishment of the national check system, which checks a person's background when he buys from a retailer. but it's never worked very well. a lot of the people that should be in the system aren't. a lot of the people that are in the system shouldn't be. there are very few ever prosecuted for trying to buy a firearm when they shouldn't. we have argued during this session in congress, we had a proposal to put funds in to improve and fix the existing system. if you take this system and expand it without fixing it, you're going to have a disaster. it's going to break down.

you're not going to improve public safety. what you are going to do is create a minefield of restrictions and harassment of legitimate americans who have every right to purchase and use a firearm. so our position is let's take what we started and fix it and make it work before we start talking about adding on to it and making it completely unworkable. >> david keen, president of the national rifle association, thanks so much. good luck. california firefighters battling a 10,000 acre inferno say they're at the mercy of mother nature. high winds and dry conditions are fuelling the fire. it's burning out of control and taking aim at thousands of homes and about 300 businesses. no one has been hurt, but smoke and ash prompted warnings for people to avoid spending too much time outdoors. up next, one of the weird perks about this gig is i get stacks and stacks of comic books

sent to me. it's kind of fun. and guess what? tomorrow, happy freedomic book day for everyone. not just for me. we'll tell you where you can get your super hero fix, coming up next. [ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. sometimes, life trips us up. sometimes, we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance.

save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings -- all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio.

and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

oh, hi. welcome back to "the lead." in the pop culture lead, there was once a time when the term "comic book enthusiast" conjured up images of some guy living in his mom's basement.

but the cult following for comics got bigger and edgier. which might explain why millions have tomorrow's date circled on their calendars. we know their superpowers. and we think we know their fans. >> got it, got it, got it, got it. need it. >> the comic book heroes are not just for little kids and "big bang theory" nerds anymore. >> smell that? that's the smell of new comic books. >> just ask george clooney. ryan reynolds or halle barry. >> i feel like i'm an x-men finally, for real. >> jib jab even got president obama involved. ♪ he's barack obama, he's come to save the day ♪ >> nearly 20 movies are set to

be released just this year based on comic book characters. with their powers combined, you can rest assured they'll conquer the box office. but it's not just movies. last year, san diego's annual comic-con gathering reached record attendance, 130,000. that's up just from 145 attendees in 1970. >> i think some of it has to do with just the fact that the characters and stories have been around so long, so the generations who grew up reading our comics as kids are now in positions of authority at movie studios and television studios. they understand what it is we do and the kind of stories that comics have to offer. >> if you've never finished a super hero saga by turning the page as opposed to watching it on the big screen, you're missing out. but don't worry, tomorrow you

can go to your neighborhood comic bookstore and see where the movie stars get their script ideas. why saturday? >> stop by your local comic bookstore this saturday, may 4, because it is free comic book day. >> what is it all about? >> it's a day to promote all different types of comic books to all the people that wouldn't necessarily be exposed to them and get people started reading them. >> it's a big weekend. after all, "iron man 3" hits theaters today. but there are many more masked adventurers waiting in the wings. >> this is from anthony bourdain, a sushi chef that takes on big chefs. >> and the hope for retailers, come for the free comic books and spend a lot of money on the ones that aren't.

about 27 million free comic becomes will expected to be given away tomorrow. and it's not just aquaman that's tree. we'll look at the end of an era for your old favorite e-mail address, coming up next. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals: help the gulf recover, and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i've been with bp for 24 years. i was part of the team that helped deliver on our commitments to the gulf -

and i can tell you, safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge safety equipment and technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all our drilling activity, twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. safety is a vital part of bp's commitment to america - and to the nearly 250,000 people who work with us here. we invest more in the u.s. than anywhere else in the world. over fifty-five billion dollars here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor. our commitment has never been stronger. [ male announcer ] the first look is only the beginning. ♪ ♪

this is a stunning work of technology. ♪ this is the 2013 lexus es and the first-ever es hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection.

welcome back to "the lead." time for the buried lead. turns out north korea might not be all talk after all, according to a new pentagon report. the country could be capable of soon launching a nuclear weapon that would reach the ums. if the missile testing continues, the country will be able to make good on a missile strike on the u.s. mainland. the ancient relic known as hot mail. the e-mail service has been imported to outlook.com. those with hot mail accounts won't see a change, but the layout will be different when they log in. we ask that you hot mail users to tweet us about your e-mail experience, but odds are, you're still on myspace. we asked you to tweet us horse names for the kentucky derby.

not glue yet. pony stark. and teabiscuit. that's it for "the lead." we now turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, big flames are racing dangerously close to thousands of california homes. we'll get a live update from the fire zone. plus, new evidence that the bombs set off in boston were truly homemade. and after boston, the kentucky derby fans will face new limits when they back into churchill downs tomorrow. wolf blitzer is off today. i'm jim acosta. you're in "the situation room." we begin with a new discovery in the boston terror investigation. authorities now appear to have evidence that the bombs were made at tamerlan tsarnaev's apartment where he lived with his